Do any of you crafty folks ever use a handheld loom, such as a Hazel Rose loom or Weavette, which makes small squares in the 4-to-6 inch range?

I’m wondering how to connect them together. There are two ways I know: (1) to crochet around the edges and then stitch them together, and (2) to stitch them together without crocheting first. Both of these are aesthetically unpleasant to me. The crocheted border distorts the squares and just looks wrong to me somehow. Just plain stitching them looks better, but stands out like a surgical suture if the yarn isn’t the same color (and it never is, on patchwork).

Do you know a better way? Am I missing the “trick” to doing it easily and beautifully? I’d really like to know how the person who made the “Tumbling Blocks” throw on this page connected them so neatly.

Topics: crocheting, knitting, sewing, quilting, weaving, yarn, looms, hazel rose looms, weavettes, weave-its, craftwork, patchwork